


Bachelor Omega

by Assapanick



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: 1930s, Accidental Baby Acquisition, Alpha Tom Riddle, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Bachelor Mother au, Implied Mpreg, It's not Harry's baby, M/M, Magical and Muggle world mixed, Omega Harry Potter, and in them love can totally happen in a week or less, because it's based on a movie, but not actually in this story, fast paced romance, no matter what everyone thinks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-17
Updated: 2020-02-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:21:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 20,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22766182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Assapanick/pseuds/Assapanick
Summary: Christmas eve starts out poorly for Harry when he finds out he won’t be kept on at his seasonal job at the Riddle Department Store. On his return from the unemployment office on his lunch break, he spots a woman leaving a baby on a doorstep. He tries to stop her, but now everyone thinks the baby is his-- even his boss, Tom Riddle, who forces him to take responsibility if Harry wants to keep his job.-AU of the 1939 Movie, Bachelor Mother.
Relationships: Harry Potter/Tom Riddle
Comments: 145
Kudos: 2045





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> -This is a mix of magical/muggle. As in, all the characters are in it and have some degree of magic, though not much. Wanted to keep things like quidditch in this and have some muggles without the statute of secrecy to work around.  
> -The ABO was just an excuse for people to think the baby was Harry's at first lol  
> -$50 in 1939 was worth just a little over $900 today.   
> -Promise I haven’t forgotten about ‘Better be’. I have a lot of other stories I want to do , but I promised myself not to post anything else until that is finished.  
> -Most of this is written. The word document is just over 17k words and I think it’ll get close to 20k when done. Second chapter should be up in a few days.

_ As of the close of business today, our store will no longer be in need of your services. The company thanks you for your hard work during this holiday season and wishes you the best of luck in your future endeavors. _

_ Thomas Riddle _

“Oh, Harry, I’m sorry.” Hermione said, having read his letter of dismissal over his shoulder.

“Did you get one, too?” He asked.

“No,” She said apologetically, “That’s really too bad, I wish they had kept you.”

She patted him on the shoulder a little awkwardly. He smiled his thanks and she started on organizing their toy display. 

After the last month of working together Harry knew better than to try and organize, too. She had her own way,  _ ‘the proper way’, _ of how the toys they sold in their department were arranged for sale. She’d let him know what to pass her soon enough.

The Riddle Department Store employed mostly females to sell products on their salesfloor. Men filled floor supervisory roles and did the heavy lifting tasks, bringing stock out to the floor as needed. Some roles were further separated by secondary-gender. As an Omega, Harry had been assigned to the children’s department, more specifically toys, a fitting place for the secondary-gender that was seen to be good with anything related to children.

He didn’t mind that this was the only department he had been considered for, just glad to have been able to secure a job at all. Work had been hard to come by even as the holiday rush had begun a little over a month ago and stores needed the extra staff. Now, with the season coming to an end, it would only be more difficult.

“Would you like to go out to lunch one more time today? We haven’t done that in a while.” Hermione offered.

“No, thank you. I should head over to the unemployment office, get a head start on finding my next job. Everyone else that got a dismissal today will be heading there, too. Though hopefully they’ll wait until after work.”

He could easily skip lunch, he was used to not always eating anyway thanks to the Dursleys. Plus he might need to get used to skipping meals here and there for a while until he did have an income again.

“That’s smart of you.” She smiled, looking relieved. Then fixing him with a critical eye, “I’d fix your hair before you go, if I were you. You  _ are  _ trying to make a good impression.”

Harry rolled his eyes once she turned away. There was no dealing with his hair, but he agreed anyway, “Yeah, good idea.”

“Good morning!” A voice called out to them. Ron had arrived with a cart of product to replenish their display before the store opened. Though the beta was lanky, he was strong, and easily unloaded their stock. 

“Mornin’, Ron.”

“Good morning, Ronald.” Hermione said with a shy smile.

The ginger nodded at her, but launched into talking with Harry, obviously excited about something. Behind him, Harry heard the girl huff quietly in annoyance.

“Say, Harry, you’re not too bad with a broomstick, aren’t you?” He leaned over the counter on an elbow, “I saw you flying at that little drop-in game over the weekend.”

“Er, thanks.” 

He’d never had many opportunities to fly, but he’d always loved it. Being in the air had always felt so natural and freeing. Someday, he’d own his own broom, too, an adult model unlike the toy ones he sold here. Though that particular dream might be further off now that he would be unemployed again in a few hours. 

“Open the boxes of plush creatures first, Harry. I need more unicorns over here.” Hermione requested, pulling out their step stool to reach the shelves behind the counter. “We’re supposed to get fairly busy today with last minute shoppers. Really, Christmas is  _ tomorrow _ , how anyone can put off all their gift purchasing until now, I’ll never understand.”

“Okay, I’ll get them.” 

“Here,” Ron pushed the right box on the counter to him. “ _ Anyway _ , I was thinking that you and I could pair up tonight for a match. There’s a tournament in the park tonight. Simplified for quicker matches so there’s only two to a team.”

“I’m not really in the mood for going out tonight.”

“Oh, come on! There’s fifty dollars in it for you.”

“Fifty dollars?” Harry paused in opening a box and blinked at the redhead grinning at him. “What do you mean?”

“It’s a  _ tournament _ , so there are prizes. Second place happens to be fifty dollars. We’d split it even, of course.” Then he leaned in closer and whispered so Hermione couldn’t hear, “I know a few of the judges and with your flying, second place is pretty much guaranteed.”

Fifty dollars was a lot. Okay, so it’d be split, yeah. Still  _ twenty-five dollars _ would be a lot, too. That would alleviate some of the pressure to find a new job immediately. Heck, it’d be a tempting amount even if he wasn’t losing his job.

“So what d’ya say? You in?”

“I haven’t got a broom.” Harry said, before he could let himself become too hopeful. “I borrowed one last time.”

“That’s fine, we’ve got an old one you can use. Not the best model, but you should be fine with it.” Ron waved off the concern, “All good, then?”

“Yeah. I’m in.” Harry returned the grin.

“Great! I’ll meet you at your apartment at seven o’clock!”

-

A few hours later, as he left the unemployment office, Harry was looking forward to the tournament and the potential cash prize even more. He wasn’t even remotely qualified for any of the positions that they were looking to fill. 

He started walking at a leisurely pace back to the department store. The task hadn’t taken much time at all and he did not want to get back too early

He didn’t have much saved. He hadn’t been at Riddle’s long enough to build up a savings. Before that, his relatives didn’t leave him time to have a job, piling his days up with chores. When they had tossed him out earlier that year, on his eighteenth birthday, he’d scrambled to find work. He was lucky to have a decent amount of magic and the knowledge of a few useful spells that kept him warm, dry, and somewhat unnoticed the weeks he spent without a roof over his head. 

He had only been in the apartment for a little less than a month now. It would be small to most other people, but to him it was spacious in comparison to what he had before. With the prize money he would be able to pay the next month’s rent, so he wouldn’t be out on the streets again immediately. After that he would hopefully already be working…

He stopped.

There was a woman hunched over the top step of a stoop the next building over. He was about to ask if she was alright when she stood and rang the bell, leaving a baby  _ wrapped only in a blanket _ in the spot where she had been leaning over. He rushed over and grabbed her arm before she could leave.

“Hey! You can’t- you can’t just leave a baby here.” 

She pulled her arm free, sniffling as she looked back to the bundle on the step. “I care for my baby, but I just… It’ll be okay, they’ll take care of my baby here.”

Harry followed her gaze over to the baby as it made a babbling sound. He sighed and turned back to the woman, “Look, you-  _ hey! _ ”

She had already started to walk away. He made to follow after, but the baby babbled louder and started to wiggle. Afraid that the child would roll down the steps he bent down to soothe them. “Hush, hush, it’s alright.” 

He had just gotten his arms under the babe when the door to the building opened and a young woman glanced down at him with a kind smile, “Please, do come in.”

Harry stood with the happily gurgling baby, peering first down the street to see that the woman had completely vanished. She may have disapparated, ducked into an alley or building… no matter how she made her escape, she was gone. 

He followed the woman inside and she led him over to a desk where a short greying woman sat. The baby in his arms babbled again for his attention and made grabby hands up at him. He couldn’t help but smile back. “Aww, you are a good baby, aren’t you.”

How could that woman have left this little baby here? He secured the weight of the child in one arm and brought his free hand up for them to grasp onto two of his fingers.

“What’s your name, dear?” The woman behind the desk asked.

“Harry Potter.” He answered, still keeping his attention on the child, “Oh, don’t put my fingers in your mouth, sweetie.”

“Are you employed anywhere, Mr. Potter?”

_ Not for long,  _ he thought to himself, then aloud, “Riddle’s. I work over in the toy…” He frowned as he looked up. The woman was filling out a form. “ _ Oh,  _ oh, wait a minute. I’m sorry, but this baby is not mine. There was a woman outside, she had set this baby down, you see, and I…”

He stopped when the first woman let out an amused chuckle, “We’ve heard that before,” she said with a knowing smile. 

“No, honestly!”

“It’s alright dear, there is no need to make up a story.”

“Make up?”He huffed, annoyed, he was  _ not  _ a liar. He passed the baby over to the slightly shocked woman, “Here, I’ve done my part. I’ll just be-”

The baby wailed. 

He stared down at the baby, surprised, missing the two women glance at each other with small smiles. Stunned, he didn’t resist when the child was placed back in his arms and immediately stopped crying. “Wow... “

“Now, Mr. Potter, about your child.”

“No, I’m serious. This- I see how this looks, really, I do… but this baby is  _ not mine.” _

“Please understand, we’re here to help you. You’re not the only young mother to come to us with a child that they claim isn’t theirs. We’ve found it helps to admit that the baby is theirs as a first step.”

He stood unmoving, looking between the two of them in bewilderment for a long moment. Soundlessly he opened his mouth a couple times, before he strode back over to the same woman as before and dumped the baby back in her arms. The child, as expected, started crying again, but he didn’t have anymore time to waste arguing over whether he was the child’s mother or not.

“Mr. Potter!”

“I don’t care what you think, that baby is  _ not  _ mine.” He held his hands up defensively as he walked quickly backwards to the door, “Besides, I can hardly take care of myself right now!”

He ignored their calls after him as he hurried down the steps to the street, walking now at a brisk pace back to the store.

-

“Where have you been all day?” A tired Thomas Riddle asked his son. “It’s already noon.”

“Out. Thought it’d be a nice day to spend the morning in Paris.” Tom Jr said easily as he slid into one of the two chairs in front of the older man’s desk. 

He may have only spent the first eight years of his life in an orphanage— before the caretakers realized that with his looks, the father he was named after could only be _Thomas Riddle,_ _wealthy business owner_ — but he would never tire of the fact that he could have _anything_ he wanted _when_ he wanted it. 

Today this meant a two-way international portkey to France to search for more rare items to collect and a visit to his preferred seamstress. 

“With someone?” His father inquired, failing to not appear too interested.

Tom scoffed, recently all the man wanted to know was if Tom had found someone. “No, I travelled alone.”

He had made connections with other important and wealthy people, but no one had caught his interest yet. Nor did he need his father pestering him.

“What did you buy, then?”

“New robes for a dinner I will be attending tonight with my usual circle.”

“Another?” The man asked, though not sounding that annoyed, “I wish you’d spend more time thinking about this business, instead of going out all the time.”

They didn’t have the best relationship, Tom couldn’t help but be bitter that he’d spent any amount of time at an orphanage. The older man had taken some time to come to wrap his mind around the fact that he had a child that, for years, he had no knowledge of. Tom eventually acknowledged that his father had  _ not  _ abandoned him, like he had grown up thinking, and his father, likewise, realized that he didn’t need to know why the boy’s mother never told him, only that he  _ did  _ have a son.

They weren’t as close as they could have been had the first eight years of Tom’s life had gone differently, but it worked for them. 

“I don’t need to be here a full day to get more work done than an average person.” Tom said as he stood to leave, “However, if it would make you happy, I’ll start now.”

-

There was a woman outside his office down the hall when he arrived. Unfortunately, a woman he  _ recognized. _

“Good afternoon, Mrs Cole.” He greeted the matron of his former orphanage politely, despite his mild dislike for her, “I do hope everything at Wool’s is alright. I understand my father sends a rather large donation every year, has he forgotten this time?”

He never cared for the other children there. They had been scared of his magical strength, far more powerful than the rest of them combined. Now, though, twelve years later, not many of the same kids he had been stuck with still resided there and benefited from his father’s money.

“No, we’ve received it, something we are most grateful for.” The stern older woman said, “This concerns one of your employees, a Mr Harry Potter. It seems the young omega dropped his child off at our door earlier. He told Martha that he worked here, but did not mention why he wouldn’t keep his child. ”

Tom clenched his jaw at the thought of an employee of his abandoning his own child. “Have you talked with him yourself?”

“No, I wanted to find out more about him first before confronting him. I did find out from one of your staff that the boy is being let go today. It seems that he feels like he cannot provide for his child. I was hoping you would allow the boy to keep his job.”

_ And prevent another child from growing up without a parent, that didn’t need to _ she didn’t say, but Tom understood anyway.

“That is reasonable, though we will do more than just that.” He agreed and finally opened the door to his office, holding it open for her, “Would you come in so we can talk this over a little more?”

-

Harry nervously made his way to the store’s offices. He had already gotten his dismissal notice, what else could they have to say to him? Were they upset that he was a few minutes late from lunch? If so, why did that matter? He was already being let go!

“Mr. Riddle is waiting for you.” The secretary gestured to a closed door. Harry nodded and entered when his quiet  **_knock knock knock_ ** was answered with a, “Come in.”

Oh, it was the younger Riddle seated behind the desk. He wasn’t sure if that made him more or less nervous. They looked very much alike, father and son, tall with pale skin, steely gray eyes and dark hair. But the son was very close to his own age and he’d never been so close to such an attractive alpha before. 

“Please, have a seat, Mr. Potter.”

Harry did and, rather belatedly, noticed a serious looking woman seated in the chair next to his own. She was staring at him intently. 

“Am I in trouble, sir?” He asked as calmly as he could, turning his attention back to the man.

“No, not at all.” The man smiled and Harry fought back a blush at it’s intensity up close, “In fact, the opposite. I understand you were given a notice about being dismissed at the end of today, is that correct?”

Harry nodded.

“We would like for you to keep on working for us, instead, Mr. Potter. I’d like to apologize for the stress this may have caused you. I have already seen to having your pay increased going forward.”

“Really? Oh, that’s such a relief. I can- I mean, thank you. Thank you very much.” Harry beamed back at the man. A pay increase! He could hardly believe it. This morning he had been worried that he would be homeless in a month and now he was getting a raise. 

“To further make up for the inconvenience, there’ll be a few gifts delivered to your home tonight as well.” Tom nodded at the woman next to him, who smiled just slightly at that.

“I- wow, this is amazing. I can’t thank you enough.” He struggled to express his gratitude.

“Think nothing of it, Mr. Potter. I wish you,  _ and your family _ , a very Merry Christmas.”

Well, he didn’t have any family, but Harry smiled all the way back to his department and an extremely curious Hermione anyway. A raise  _ and  _ gifts? He couldn’t begin to imagine what the store would give him as a-sorry-we-almost-fired-you gift, but he’d be happy with anything. Other than his cousin’s old clothes, he’d never received any gifts before.

-

Harry hurried to change out of his work clothes and into something more suitable for flying. He didn’t have any riding clothes, though with a raise and the prize money, that could change. So he settled on a well worn pair of pants and a soft somewhat faded olive green sweater under a thin black outer robe.

That was another purchase he could hopefully soon make. A warmer robe. His heating charms had managed well enough, but it would be wonderful to just own something warm. And perhaps, he could buy it  _ new _ . Riddle’s sold many expensive robes, but he’d seen a few cheaper options that might be in his price range now.

His excitement at the days events kept him from being able to relax, so he busied himself with tidying up his small apartment. One person didn’t make much of a mess, but the landlady’s many cats and kneazles roamed the apartment building freely. Though it was rare that any of them made it into his own space, their fur drifted in under the door or fell off his own clothes when he stopped to pet them on his way in. 

The rent here was cheaper than most, so he didn’t mind the creatures or their fur. The landlady was kind to him, too, so sweeping up fur once in a while was well worth it to live here.

**_Knock Knock_ **

He paused in his sweeping at the noise. A quick glance at his clock told him it was too early still for Ron, though not by much. This must be the gift!

“Come in! It’s unlocked!” He called out as he quickly swept the pile of hair he had collected out of sight of the door, and left the broom leaning against the wall.

Excitement turned to confusion when he recognized the two women who entered his apartment. One was the young woman from the orphanage earlier, smiling widely, with her arms piled high with wrapped boxes— the same kind he used for wrapping up purchases at Riddle’s.

The other woman, was the stern looking lady he’d seen in Riddle’s office earlier. Her expression was a lot more reserved than her companion and in her arms was a large baby basket.

Shocked into inaction for the second time that day, he watched as they entered, placing the basket on his small sofa and the boxes on the coffee table in front of it. 

“Merry Christmas, Mr. Potter! From all of us at Wool’s and Tom Riddle, as well.” The young girl told him happily, spinning around, arms wide with dramatic flourish.

He found his voice finally, “Just what is going on here?”

“You got your job back, so you can raise your child again.” She said, smile fading a notch at his obvious distress. “We told you we were here to help you, Mr. Potter.”

“Help me? That-” He gestured at the basket, “ _ That  _ baby is not mine!”

“Normally mothers are much more well behaved and grateful when they are reunited with their children.” The stern woman said flatly.

“That’s because I’m not it’s mother!” He said, exasperated at the situation.

“Come along, Martha,” The woman turned to the younger girl, who followed, frowning at Harry as she did. “We shouldn’t continue to intrude on this  _ emotional  _ reunion.”

“Wait, wait!” He called out, darting around the sofa as they reached the door. “You can’t leave this baby here! Take it back! It’ll just end up there again, I won’t be keeping it.”

The stern woman turned back, hand on the doorknob, with disappointment and disgust clear on her face, “ _ You _ wait, Mr. Potter. It’s about time you took responsibility for your child and stopped trying to force them upon others. You leave that poor child at our doorstep again and we will just bring them right back to you. And next time I may inform Mr Riddle of your despicable attitude.”

She shut the door in his stunned face.

_ Take responsibility!? _

He covered his face with his hands and screamed in frustration. This was ridiculous! He had only been trying to help earlier, so the child wouldn’t hurt itself by rolling off the stoop. How could no one believe him?

The baby let out a questioning babble and Harry peeked over at the basket through his fingers.

He could see two tiny hands reaching up over the lip of the basket. He let out a frustrated sigh and approached the baby.

When he got closer and the baby saw him, the babbling got happier. Little hands clapped together and the child smiled gummily up at him.

“You sure didn’t help me with that crying earlier.” He told the baby, “You know they think I’m your mother?”

The baby smilied wider, still flailing it’s chubby arms up at him.

“Well, you  _ are _ cute, but I can’t keep you, understand? No, I guess you don’t, do you?” He said amused. Annoying situation or not, the baby had no control over anything, and it’s happiness was infectious. He smiled back as it grabbed at it’s own feet.

Louder knocking than before sounded at the door, startling him.

“Harry! Are you ready?”

Ron! The tournament! He’d forgotten for a moment, too absorbed by the situation he’d found himself in.

“Just a moment!” He yelled back in a rush. He grabbed the basket and moved it to the floor behind the couch in the middle of the room just in time as Ron came in anyway, two broomsticks in one hand.

“Well, c’mon!” He said excitedly.

“Er, I-I don’t think I feel up to it anymore.” 

Harry resisted looking down at the baby in the basket by his feet. Honestly, what was he supposed to do? He didn’t need anyone else thinking he was an unwed omega with a baby.

“What? Why not?”

“I’m sorry, er, just not feeling all that great.”

“Oh, are you nervous?” The redhead smiled reassuringly, “Don’t be, like I said, you’re a good flier and I know some of the judges. Already talked to them!”

“No, really, I don’t think-”

“It’ll be fine! Here, I brought the broom like I promised.” He held one out and came closer.

“No,” Harry tried to wave him off, “I’m not feeling well…”

Ron came around the sofa just as the baby let out another happy noise, he faltered in his approach, looking down at the child with wide eyes. “Oh.”

His eyes darted between Harry and the baby rapidly, “Uhh…. where’d that come from?” 

Harry sighed, running a hand through his hair before reaching down to pick the basket back up, “Christmas present.” He said, dryly.

“ _ Last  _ Christmas, you mean?” Ron whispered under his breath as he peered closer at the baby and just how big it was.

Harry shook his head in exasperation, not bothering to say anything more about it. He wasn’t about to go into the whole ‘It’s not my baby’ again after how  _ well  _ that had been working out so far. Apparently his word meant nothing.

“Well, uh, I understand now. I should just be going… don’t worry about the tournament.”

“Hold on,” Harry thought quickly, “How much time do we have until we need to be there?”

“Er, about half an hour.”

“That’s plenty of time,” Harry said as he picked up the baby out of the basket, thinking about the way Tom Riddle had smiled at him earlier and made plans for Harry to take responsibility for a child that wasn’t his. He didn’t even bother to ask Harry his side of the story! 

“Hey, you can’t- Harry, you can’t  _ fly  _ with a baby!”

“I’m not going to. We’re going to make a stop on the way first.” He made his way past him and to his door, missing the beta’s eyes go impossibly wider at his next words. “Tom Riddle got me into this mess, so he can get me out of it!”

He ignored the warm feeling he got as the baby gripped tightly at his sweater and rested their small head in the crook of his neck.

-

Tom descended the grand staircase in Riddle Manor, swinging his expensive new French outer robe on that he’d purchased that morning as he did so.

At the bottom of the stairs, in the large entryway, the butler looked frazzled, holding a baby in his arms.

Tom raised an eyebrow at the man as he approached.

“Sir,” The old beta talked quickly, “A Mr. Potter just dropped this off for you. I tried to stop him, but he just took off!”

“Potter?” He repeated, mood darkening and thoughts of a pleasant evening evaporating. “A young dark haired omega?”

“Yes, sir. You  _ do  _ know him?”

How  _ dare  _ that omega drop off his child here, after Tom had done all he could for him. More than he had needed to, even. He gave him his job, a raise, and plenty of high quality baby items that he surely couldn’t have afforded on his own! The nerve of that ungrateful heathen. 

“Where did he say he was going?” He asked as evenly as he could.

“He didn’t say, sir, but his companion had two broomsticks. There is a Quidditch tournament tonight at-”

“I know about that.” He cut in, “Give the child here, I’ll go take care of this myself.”

-

The city park didn’t have a full size quidditch pitch, as it would have taken up too much of the available land. Instead it was scaled down. The goal rings were still plenty high, sitting above the treetops, though nowhere near as high as regulation standard. Each side of the pitch had two wooden bleachers, with open space between them. The bleachers were already packed with spectators and the open spaces were beginning to fill as well.

Tom entered the gathering crowd, ignoring the  _ aww’s  _ of random strangers at the sight of him with a child. He made his way through to stand on the edge of the pitch, temper rising as the child continued to wail in his arms. The babe had started crying the moment he left the manor and he had not been able to get them to stop since.

It appeared the matches had not started yet, but there were plenty of people up in the air already warming up. He searched the sky for a glimpse of the omega.

“Pardon me,” one of the tournament officials approached him, dragging his attention away from the air, “What color robe is your wife wearing? We’ll help you find them.”

_ “Wife?” _ Tom seethed, “That omega is  _ not-!” _

“Woah, woah,” The man held up his hands in defense, making eye contact with another official as he did, “Easy, just trying to help.” 

“I do not need your help. I will drag that omega back by myself.” He turned narrowed eyes back up to the soaring players.

He caught sight of a slight form with dark hair doing graceful loops in the air. The undisciplined boy appeared to be having a great time, laughing as he did so. 

“ _ There you are.”  _ Tom said, darkly, raising his free hand not holding the baby up at the omega—

“Sir!” The official he thought had left exclaimed in horror, blocking his path, “You can not cause a disturbance!”

“This will only take a moment.” He said through clenched teeth.

“No. I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” He said and two more officials stepped up, nodding in agreement.

“I will not leave until that Omega is back on the ground and taking care of his child!”

“Yikes,” One of them said.

“I think not. You will leave or we will be forced to call the authorities.” The first one said, “Then you can spend the night in jail thinking about how to treat your omega.”

Tom growled, thinking. He was not about to get arrested for something like this. He had a perfect public image and he was not about to tarnish it over one stupid irresponsible omega. 

“Fine.” He bit out at last. 

He’d see the omega soon enough.

-

“That’s tough luck, mate.” Ron said to him for the umpteenth time since they left the tournament. 

Harry sighed, he really could have used the money. Especially now after he’d dropped the baby off at Riddle’s and left. He was a little nervous to show up to work the next time he was scheduled. 

“I don’t know why they would have the tournament prizes arranged so that second place was a monetary one and first was a trophy.” Harry muttered, swinging the large polished metal cup by one of it’s handles.

“The twins knew it, too. I shouldn’t have trusted them.” Ron groaned, following Harry up the stairs to the apartment. 

“It’s alright. You didn’t know.” Harry assured.

“Still, I feel bad.” The beta continued as Harry pulled out his keys, “I was right about you being a good flier though. You did amazing.”

“Thanks,” Harry unlocked his door, but didn’t open it.

“It was hard keeping up with you,” Ron praised, “All that work gave me an appetite, do you have anything to eat?”

Harry blinked at him, “No. Isn’t it late?”

“No, of course not.” He tried to push past, “C’mon, I tried to help, right? Just a little snack.”

“I don’t have anything right now, Ron. Nor do I feel up to cooking after today.” Harry said more than a little annoyed. He wasn’t lying, he didn’t have anything that he could make. He was due to go shopping, and now he wasn’t sure how much he had to spend on food. Plus from what he’d heard from his coworkers that had gone to lunch with the beta in the past, Ron could eat a  _ lot. _

“Not even after I made sure you got home alright?” He whined.

“I told you that you didn’t have to.”

“And let an omega walk home in the dark alone?” Ron gasped, “My mother raised me better than that.” He laughed and pushed past Harry into the apartment. “Honestly, even just an apple would be fine!”

Harry spun on his heel, ready to tell him what he thought of his manners, when he caught sight of Ron who had stopped in shock and then the reason for his shock sitting on his sofa, baby in arms, beyond him.

_ Shite. _

He gulped. Tom Riddle looked exhausted and pissed and yet... still so  _ handsome _ .

“AH. I get it now,” Ron said in a hurry, “I-I’ll just, I’ll just be—  _ bye!” _

Ron was gone before Harry could say another word.

He had expected to hear something from someone about the fact that he had left his supposed child at the Riddle’s. But he had expected the stern woman from the orphanage and he did not think it would be tonight. He certainly did not think it would be Tom Riddle himself to confront him. 

He bit his lip as he closed the door behind him and faced the alpha, “How did you get in here?”

“Your landlady was kind enough to let me in so  _ your child _ and I didn’t have to wait out in the cold.”

“Listen, I don’t know what the people at the orphanage told you, but that is not my baby!” He crossed his arms in front of him. This was not going on any further. “This is all just one big misunderstanding. Another woman dropped that baby off and I was just looking out for it.”

“Why must you keep denying it?” The alpha shook his head, glaring. He stood, gently placing the baby back into the basket, before rounding on Harry. “As someone left on the steps of an orphanage myself, I don’t much care for your denying your child of it’s mother.”

Harry stepped back as the alpha seemed to tower over him now that he was standing. He had forgotten that the man had been in an orphanage. He felt bad for a moment disappointing the man before he came to his senses. He had  _ not  _ dropped his baby at an orphanage. He did not have a baby!

He stood up straighter, “For the last time, that baby is. Not.  _ Mine!” _

Riddle’s eyes narrowed and he stalked closer, “You want to keep your job, don’t you?”

“You-  _ you’re…”  _ Harry spluttered at the implication, “You’re threatening my job over a child that isn’t mine?”

“ _ I  _ am ensuring that  _ your child  _ is raised by it’s mother, Mr. Potter.” The alpha said coldly, “Our store employs decent honest people and your attempted abandonment of your child shows neither of those traits.”

“Fine,” Harry gritted out, “I will find work elsewhere!”

“You won’t be able to find work elsewhere.” The alpha promised with a dark grin that sent a shiver down Harry’s spine.

“What do you mean?” He asked, unsure under that gaze. He stepped back when the man moved forward again, only to hit his back on the door behind him.

“New employers will ask for references, don’t you know? Even if they don’t, I will know where you go and  _ gladly  _ provide my detailed opinion on your deplorable character.” He said evenly as he glared down at the omega with icy-gray eyes as he caged him in by the door, “You will  _ never _ work in any respectable business again, Mr. Potter. I will personally see to it.”

Harry struggled to find words as the taller male continued to glare unblinkingly for a long moment. He eventually stepped away returning to the basket, to check on the baby.

“You’re going to persecute me?” Harry finally said, voice smaller than he hoped it would be.

Riddle didn’t say anything, he didn’t need to. He just waited until Harry shakily pushed away from the door and sat down in the chair nearby it.

He felt like crying. What was he supposed to do in a situation like this? 

“Are you ready to ask for your job back, Harry?” He asked, his voice calm and devoid of any of its earlier malice.

Harry stared back at the man, unsure.

What choice did he have? There was a limit to the man’s influence, of course, but how far would he have to go to escape it and find someone to employ him. He didn’t want to leave the area, this was the only place he knew. 

“Please.” He murmured quietly. “I want my job.”

“Of course.” The alpha replied simply, acting like the entire situation had not been so serious. Like the whole ordeal had a simple solution the entire time and he was pleased that Harry finally understood. 

The man appeared thoughtful as he looked at the child in the basket. Harry didn’t know what to say to him and so remained quiet. Part of him wanted the other to take his leave, while another part didn’t want him to leave yet because Harry didn’t know how to take care of an infant.

Eventually, the alpha spoke again. He was still looking in the direction of the baby, but his eyes didn’t appear to be focussed on them.

“I am curious, however. Tell me, why did you fight this so hard? Why would you want to give up your child?”

_ Because it’s not my child,  _ His mind automatically supplied. 

“Because I can hardly take care of myself.” He said instead. It was what he told the ladies at the orphanage as well. “My only living relatives threw me out and I only recently managed to get this apartment.”

“I see,” He looked around the shabby apartment, “I shall provide a few more necessary items, I had not realized how hard of a time you were having. What of the father? Where is he?”

Harry gestured to his unmarked neck, “Obviously he didn’t care to stay.” He didn’t feel like making up some mystery man, but now needed to pretend the child was his to keep his job.

“Oh,” He said softly and Harry took pleasure in the other’s discomfort at whatever idea of the situation that gave him. “Well, you have a secure job now. I’m sure you will be a most capable mother now that you have a chance. Have a good night.”

Harry didn’t stop him as he left. 

He slumped in his seat and stared up at the ceiling. A secure job? How was he supposed to show up to the job if he had to take care of a baby? What did Riddle expect him to do with the baby during working hours?

There was a quiet rap on the door. What did he want now?

“Yes?” He called out tiredly.

“Oh, Harry!” Mrs Figg poked her head into the room and he stood up in a hurry, “I saw the man leave. He told me about the baby earlier.” 

“Oh, uh…” 

She caught sight of the basket and tottered over faster than he’d ever seen the old woman move, “There they are! You didn’t need to hide the baby from me, dear.”

“I’m sorry.” He said, not sure how to handle the situation. Three of her kneazles darted in through the open door while he stood still where he was, uncertain.

He grimaced at the thought of more hair after he had just swept. He’d have to sweep more often, too, if there was going to be a baby crawling around.

“He said you were having problems.” She said kindly, picking the baby up, “Don’t worry, I will help you. You know I don’t go out much, I have plenty of time. I told the man that, too. So what’s his name?”

“Tom?” Didn't he introduce himself earlier to her?

“Oh, Thomas. Very nice. Hello little Tom, I’m Arabella.” She cooed at the baby.

“Oh, I-” He thought she was asking about the alpha. Well, whatever. The baby needed a name anyway. Might as well name him after the man who pretty much gave him the baby, though not in the normal way. “Yeah, Thomas.”

“He looks just like you.”

Bewildered, Harry flopped back down into his seat.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thought this would be up four hours ago, but ended up adding more than a thousand more words to this. I think 7k is too long for a single chapter, but I liked where this cut off. I was going to give this another read through, but at this point I don't think I'll catch any mistakes after looking at it for so long. xD
> 
> Thanks everyone for checking out the story so far! I’m glad so many people are on board to watch as I desecrate one of my favorite movies by turning it into an abo slash fic… wait...

“ _Harry!”_

He jolted his head up from the counter where he had been resting his head on. “Er, yes?”

“I’ve been calling your name for a full minute now.” Hermione admonished, hands on her hips. “I’m going to the bathroom, so you have to pay attention if a customer comes.”

“Gotcha,” Harry said, yawning behind a hand, “I’ll be fine.”

The girl frowned, “Really, you shouldn’t be staying up so late. You almost lost your job once, I’d think that you’d be taking this more seriously.”

Hermione didn’t know that he’d suddenly acquired a less-than-a-year-old baby that was keeping him up half the night. Or, he thought he was less than a year old. He had no idea of knowing exactly. He supposed he’d have to take a guess at some point and pick a birthdate for the child. _Anyway,_ Hermione didn’t know and he planned on keeping it that way, with as little people knowing as possible, for as long as possible.

He didn’t enjoy the pitying looks he’d already gotten in the last couple days when he went out with the baby and no bondmark on his neck.

So instead, he apologized, “Sorry, Hermione, I am taking this seriously. I’ve just had trouble sleeping lately. I promise I haven’t been going out late or anything.”

“Oh,” She said, deflating a little, “I hope you’re not getting sick.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.” He deflected, waving her off.

“Well, I’ll be right back, then.” She said, giving him a scrutinizing look before walking away.

When she was out of sight, he leaned back down, elbow on the counter and head in hand. It didn’t help that they were a lot less busy now that Christmas Day had passed. There were nowhere near as many people buying toys, though the customer service area was busier than ever with returns and exchanges. It would be easier for him to not get drowsy if he had something to do other than just stand in one spot for hours on end.

“Heya, Harry!” 

He looked up, vaguely realizing that his head had dipped closer to the counter’s surface than he thought, to see Ron with a bright smile.

“Hello, Ron.”

The beta had not mentioned having seen the baby since the night of the tournament, a fact Harry was grateful for. Ron, at least, didn’t seem to be treating him differently.

“Did you hear they’re looking for an Assistant Floor Manager?”

“No, are they?” Harry tried to sound interested. His energy was already dropping again and he leaned on the counter, hoping the beta wouldn’t mind if he closed his eyes, but still listened.

“Mhmm. Sure are.”

“..and are you going to try for that?” Harry peeked an eye open and asked when Ron didn’t elaborate. Fine, he’d rest his eyes _after_ the beta left.

“Yes, I think I would be good for that, don’t you? It’s a much more important position than stock clerk.”

“Well, I wish you luck, then.”

“Thanks, mate,” He said, before leaning in. “I was wondering if you could put in a good word for me.”

“What good would my word do?” The omega asked. The confusion forced back some of his awareness as he tried to think why Ron would ask him that. Ron, as a male beta, was more likely to be listened to by anyone. 

“You know, with your connections.” He wiggled his eyebrows.

“Ron, I have no idea what you are talking about.” 

“Sure, sure, I get it. Don’t want to say anything out loud where you could be overheard.” He said as Harry gave him a disbelieving look, “But think about it alright? I mean, we are friends, after all.”

“Uh, sure, whatever you say.” 

The beta winked, further confusing him, and went back to whatever it was he was supposed to be doing.

Did he think Riddle would listen to Harry? Riddle did _not_ have a positive opinion of Harry. Ron should know that, he’d been with Harry when he left the baby at Riddle’s _and_ when the Alpha was clearly unhappily waiting in his apartment later that night.

Harry wasn’t left alone long before another figure approached him, but long enough to lose some of the energy he found while talking to the redhead.

“Have you not been sleeping?” Tom Riddle asked him as he watched Harry yawn widely. The alpha looked genuinely confused as to why Harry was exhausted.

“I have a baby that keeps me up all night, Mr. Riddle.” Harry smiled thinly.

“Why isn’t the baby sleeping? Is the crib not comfortable enough?” He asked seriously. Harry might have found the concern sweet if the alpha hadn’t been the reason for the problem in the first place. “I can have a different one sent over.”

“No, it’s not that. That’s just how babies are, he wakes up because he’s hungry, or needs changing, or because he rolled over and didn’t like that. Then he cries and I wake up and have to figure out which of those things is bothering him, fix that, calm him down so he goes back to sleep, then _I_ go back to sleep, only for him to wake up again and start the whole thing over. This goes on all night until, suddenly, the sun’s about to come up and my landlady shows up to take him off my hands so I can go to work.”

“I see.” The alpha said unsurely, clearly not having expected the rant. “I thought motherhood came more naturally to omegas. I see people all the time with their children and they don’t look so exhausted.”

Harry bristled at the jab, “Maybe they have a mate to help them.”

“Oh, yes, maybe they do.” He grimaced slightly and Harry grinned. “Well, this phase can’t last forever, I hope tonight goes better for you.”

Harry fought back another yawn as the alpha left. At least Riddle being obviously uncomfortable with Harry’s situation was amusing. 

Across the floor, movement caught Harry’s eye. To his confusion, Ron smiled widely and gave him a thumbs up.

-

_Omega Motherhood: An Omega’s Guide to Raising Young_

Harry looked dubiously at the title of the book Riddle handed him when he showed up that evening at his apartment, unannounced. 

“Um, thank you?” Harry said unsurely.

The alpha, apparently unfazed by the unenthusiastic response, nodded and entered the apartment. 

As Riddle pulled out small boxes from his robe pockets and unshrunk them, Harry returned to kneeling next to the sofa. Baby Tommy was propped up against the back of the sofa and some pillows. He exchanged the book for the bowl of baby food he left on the coffee table when he’d stood to answer the door. 

“I brought some more items.” Riddle told him unnecessarily, arranging the boxes neatly on the table, “Perhaps some different blankets will help keep the baby comfortable at night. Or different clothes. The book said some babies prefer the feel of different materials.”

“Did it?” Harry didn’t think different material cloth would get the baby to sleep through the night. If that was the kind of advice the book contained, he wasn’t sure he could trust it. Was it even written by an omega, or was it written by someone who had no real experience and only _thought_ they knew what they were talking about. Still, it was worth a shot and he wasn’t about to turn down free stuff. “I’ll try one of them out tonight, thank you.”

Harry brushed the strands of Tommy’s dark hair aside on his forehead in between feeding him bites. The baby smiled as he gummed his mouthful of mush. While the omega was not actually related to the baby, Mrs. Figg was correct in that they did share some similarities. 

The baby was pale-skinned and had nearly the same shade of dark hair, like Harry. The eyes, though, were a light blue, not green. Harry had heard that sometimes that could change as the baby grew. Maybe Riddle’s book mentioned it.

The similar colorization that they shared likely had only fueled the orphanage worker’s determination that they were mother and child. 

“Have you been scenting the blankets?” Riddle asked out of nowhere. Harry startled, nearly dropping the now-empty bowl. He had forgotten for a moment that the other was there. Comparing his features with the baby’s had distracted him.

When Riddle’s words registered, he gasped, scandalized. “Excuse me?” 

Scenting? That was _personal._ Not something an employer would talk to his employee about. Parents scented their young children, everyone knew that, but no one _talked_ about it outside of immediate family.

The Alpha had the decency to look a little embarrassed, sharp features reddening a fraction, “The book mentioned that, too.”

Had the alpha read the entire book? 

Well, he wasn’t about to tell the alpha that it may be a good idea, but he would try it. 

He had not been sure of how to handle the baby. Clearly, the baby liked his presence, but it still didn’t feel quite right to scent someone else’s baby. The blanket would be a good starting ground and it may help Harry to start to feel like the baby was his. 

Especially since the baby _was_ his now.

He may have fought it, but he’d been unsuccessful. The baby- _Tommy-_ was here to stay. Even if he was still a little upset about the situation, that was no fault of Tommy’s and he was not going to take it out on him.

He knew, too, that If he did somehow manage to convince Riddle and the ladies at the orphanage that Tommy was not his child, then the boy would grow up at the orphanage. His birth mother was long gone and he didn’t even have a name to go by to begin to find her. Heck, he didn’t even get a good look at her face really. So if the orphanage was now Tommy’s only other option, Harry was willing to keep him and do the best he could for the boy. So he could feel loved and part of a family in a way that Harry had not been able to experience himself.

The Dursley’s had reminded him frequently, and with no little amount of disgust and hatred, that they had been stuck with him when his parents went off and got themselves killed. He could never let another feel the way he did growing up.

They, too, were another part of the reason scenting Tommy was something he was unsure about. He had never been scented himself. Sure, his parents probably did, but that was something he could not remember. So scenting a blanket for Tommy could be a safe start for both of them. 

He was almost afraid to ask, since the Alpha apparently had no qualms about talking about private matters, but he clearly still had more to say if he was still here, “Were there any other bits of advice you thought were worthwhile in that book?”

“It also suggested that the father should scent some, too. Makes the child feel protected, especially if the father is an alpha.”

Harry felt his face redden. He wasn’t sure if what he was feeling was anger or embarrassment over the fact that Riddle was talking about this when the story he had given him was that the father had left him while he was with child. Or, implied really. He said as little as he could about it.

Harry took a steadying breath and tried to say with as little bitterness as possible, “You know I can’t ask the father…” He looked back at the baby to keep from frowning at the alpha.

“Yes, well, the book says it can be someone else close to the child if the father is unavailable.”

_Unbelievable._ Harry thought. Didn’t he tell the alpha, albeit vaguely, that he wasn’t close to his family? Surely he didn’t think that Harry would go back to...

Harry bit his lip as another thought occurred to him, unable to resist his eyes darting back up to meet the other’s. Not sure if the alpha was really suggesting...

“The baby appeared to be comfortable around me once I calmed him down when I was last here the other night. He may already recognize my scent, and if so, that would be the ideal situation according to the book. A familiar alpha scent makes the child feel protected and allows them to ease into sleep more easily. It does not have to be me, but you mentioned you have no living relatives that you are close to.”

How Riddle could talk as if this was no big deal, he had no idea. Shouldn’t he feel just as awkward as Harry?

Harry must have remained quiet for too long, as the man continued, “I apologize if that was unwelcome. You appeared to be having quite a lot of difficulty working today due to your fatigue.”

“Oh.” This was because of him falling asleep at work. The omega wanted to refuse now out of spite, barely keeping himself from replying right away. 

Sure it was a little insulting that the alpha was only offering because he wanted Harry to be a better employee, but… Harry wanted to sleep. His own scent may do the trick, but if it didn’t and he refused the alpha now, he may not have another chance at this. He knew he wouldn’t be able to ask for that himself, so, “I would appreciate that.”

Also, there was part of him that didn’t really think that Riddle would go this far out of his way for just anyone. “Which blanket would you like?” Harry asked. Nervous excitement built up in him making him eager to help the man pick.

“I prepared one ahead of time, in case you accepted.”

Riddle nodded and reached into one of his robe pockets to grab out yet another shrunken box. He restored it to it’s normal size with a wave of his hand. Harry braced himself for the alpha’s scent to waft out of the box, but Riddle left the box closed. The unopened box joined the others on the coffee table. 

He was both disappointed and relieved by the action. 

“Let me know if it helps-” The man blinked, “I don’t know what the baby’s name is.”

“Oh, it’s Thomas.” Harry grinned, “I call him Tommy.”

Riddle frowned slightly. Harry got the impression that he didn’t believe him, but wasn’t going to say anything, “Then, let me know if this helps Thomas.” 

“I will.”

Harry waved little Tommy’s hand in goodbye as the alpha departed. The baby wiggled until Harry picked him off the couch and onto the floor. 

Tommy wasn’t old enough yet to walk, but he could crawl. And quickly at that. Harry had been momentarily alarmed when he’d first placed the baby on the floor and the little guy took off at a pace he’d not thought was possible on hands and knees. The apartment had been quickly cleaned to assure there was nothing hazardous in reach. An easy task, since Harry didn’t have much to start with. 

Tommy skittered across the floor to the door where Riddle had just left. When he understood that he wouldn’t be able to get through there himself, Tommy would scoot back over. Until then Harry kept an eye on him as he started going through some of the boxes, sitting cross legged on the floor. 

He left the one containing the scented blanket aside for the moment.

Harry wondered if the alpha realized that he appeared to be courting him. Or if that was just Harry’s omega seeing these gifts as an alpha’s way of showing off his ability to provide. He shouldn’t hope, it was likely that Riddle just felt bad for the unwed omega raising a child, but he couldn’t help but hope that the alpha might grow closer.

Riddle had brought a lot and Harry was excited to see that amongst the blankets and winter gear, there were some lighter options in bigger sizes for when the seasons turned. 

Harry spent some time organizing the new clothing items into two categories, depending on if they would fit Tommy now or later. At the rate Harry was acquiring baby clothes, Tommy’s own wardrobe would soon be more than twice the size of Harry’s own. If it hadn’t already.

From the selection of blankets he’d unboxed, he picked out one of the softer ones, a deep burgundy color, and set it aside to scent later. 

That left only one box to open. 

The weight of a small hand on his thigh drew his attention away from the remaining box in his lap. Tommy had wandered back over and was trying to crawl his way into his lap to see what the omega had. 

Harry opened the box slowly and watched Tommy’s face for his reaction. The little nose twitched at the comforting scent and he pulled himself more fully into Harry’s lap. Amused, he discarded the box and helped the child to snuggle closer. 

The small babe leaned into Harry’s stomach, hands gripping the forest green blanket tight.

With his heart melting at the action, Harry mused that he’d really have no problem loving this child no matter how he came into his life. He was already smitten.

He wrapped his arms around his baby and allowed himself to take comfort from the soothing and protective scent of the alpha, too.

Little Tommy only woke once that night.

**—**

“Oh, congratulations, Ron.” Harry smiled at the red head when he noticed the shiny new pin attached to the front of his robes. The man had puffed his chest out so that Harry, even without glasses, would have noticed it. “What is your job now?”

“Well, _Assistant Floor Manager,_ of course.” He said proudly. “The official reason is because I have been here the longest, but…” he looked around quickly in suspicion, “ _You know_ , thanks.”

Ron winked. 

Harry vaguely remembered their conversation from yesterday. He was so much more exhausted that morning than he was today and had not paid as much attention to the beta’s words as he normally would have. He did remember enough that Ron seemed to think Harry might have played a part in his promotion, as absurd as that was.

“Ron. That _is_ why you got the promotion.”

“Right, of course. You would know the reason that they picked.” He smiled widely, nodding all the while.

_Whatever, let him think what he wants._ Harry sighed in exasperation going back to tidying.

-

“Who is that?” Tom looked pointedly across the sales floor at a lanky red headed boy talking to Harry as the omega straightened up his counter after returning from lunch.

“That is Ronald Weasley, the new Assistant Floor Manager here.” The Head Floor Manager of the children’s department answered unenthusiastically. Clearly the man was not happy with his new assistant.

“Why was he selected?”

“Seniority. I brought a selection of other candidates to your father as well, but I fear he was too busy to give the list a proper look.”

That was a good enough reason to be promoted. His father liked loyalty to the store and often considered the time an employee had been with them as a deciding factor in promotions. Even if his father had looked over the list, he likely still would have gone with the same person. Tom normally stayed out of this part, but his father _did_ want him to take a bigger part in the store, didn’t he? 

“Do you believe someone else was more qualified?”

The man looked nervous even though he had already admitted that he disagreed with the head of the store’s decision. Maybe he had thought he had already been too forward.

“Come now, I want your honest opinion. This is the man that will be working closest to you and I want the heads of department to have the right kind of help. It has only been one day, as you say, but do you think Weasley was the right choice?”

“No, he spent a lot of his time as stock clerk lazing around gossiping. Now he is the opposite, he’s taking this _too seriously_. He’s acting like he owns the floor now and spent the morning ordering everyone around.”

“Back to your list, was there someone else in mind?”

“Yes, sir, a couple others. They haven’t been here as long, of course, but they are-”

“Excellent, you don’t need to convince me further. Appoint the one you choose.” He didn’t feel the need to listen to any more, “As I said, you are the one working with them. It should be your choice anyway.”

“Really?” The relief was evident in his tone and relaxed posture, “And as for Weasley?”

“I’ll inform him myself that he’s a stock clerk again at the end of the day. So far whenever I have noticed him he has been standing around.” Mostly at Harry’s section of the department leaning over the counter. If he was interested in the omega, it was obvious that he was far too irresponsible to help take care of a child and not a right match for Harry. 

“Maybe I’ll move him to another floor, to avoid any unfortunate or awkward situations.” He smiled at the relieved Floor Manager.

Weasley finally turned his attention away from the omega and noticed the two of them watching. When Tom tilted his head slightly, he straightened up with a nervous smile and scurried off to hopefully do something productive. Not that it would make a difference now.

With the beta gone, he approached the omega to inquire about his son’s reaction. He did look a lot more alert today, so he started with that.

“You look rested today.”

“I am. Almost got a full night’s sleep.” The green-eyed omega smiled gratefully, “Tommy wouldn’t let go of the blanket once he latched on.”

He nodded in understanding, glad that the omega brought up the blanket himself.

“I am glad that the book’s information proved accurate. If the, ah, blanket’s _usefulness_ fades just let me know.” No one appeared to be within earshot, but he wasn’t about to talk completely openly about some things in public.

“Thank you.” Harry ducked his head, both pleased and embarrassed by the gesture. 

“You are welcome.” He ended the conversation and headed for the lift. 

It was interesting to see the young man act so sweetly after their first few encounters. Harry had been adamant when he’d insisted that the baby wasn’t his. He could see now that Harry had been fierce in his denial of his child because he thought he was doing what was best for him. It had been misguided, but impressive that an omega talked to him that way. Not just because he was talking in such a way to an alpha either. 

Back in the orphanage, sure, the other children had been antagonistic to him, but in groups, not individually. Then, after the orphanage, once his father finally took him home, he’d been treated mostly with respect. 

The omega would be fine it seemed, now that he’d been given the resources he needed. 

It was a relief to be sure of the younger’s stability. He could enjoy the new year’s celebrations tonight without having his mind drift back to him or the baby.

He got off the lift to check in with the next Department Lead, this time for home goods. He spotted the man quickly. He was in the middle of a conversation with a young couple, so he held back to wait, absently looking over some of the bedding piled on a display. 

_I wonder if Harry’s blankets are warm enough._

-

Harry flipped through the pages of Tom’s book, rolling a soft fabric ball for Tommy to skurry after while he tried to figure out Tommy’s approximate age based on the milestones listed.

_Your baby will begin to crawl when they are six to ten months old._

_A baby’s set of teeth will start to come through at around six months, though it is not uncommon for some to get them months earlier or later than that._

Huh. Tommy was well into crawling, but didn’t have a single tooth yet. Either his teeth were late or he was ahead of the game with his motor skills. Harry sent a longing glance at the sleek new toy broom sitting on his high entry table, well out of Tommy’s reach even if he were to pull himself to a standing position. 

_Soon._ He thought wistfully.

Tommy returned with the ball squished tightly in one hand. “Thank you, Tommy! Good job!” He praised. “Want to go again?”

Tommy shrieked in joy and Harry rolled the ball again for him. The baby took off giggling loudly across the small living space. He’d definitely be able to get Tommy on a broom soon.

Harry set the book aside when he heard a knock at the door. He’d had more visitors in the last few days than the entire first month he’d been here.

“Tom?” Harry wasn’t even sure why he was surprised to see the man at his door anymore, “What are you doing here?”

Expected or not, he was pleased to see the man at his doorstep, outside of their workplace again. He allowed the taller man inside with a small smile.

“I was hoping to convince you to join me at a ball this evening, _Harry_.”

He hadn’t even been aware that he’d used the alpha’s first name until the alpha returned the gesture. Happiness welled up inside him that the other didn’t oppose the use of a more familiar address. 

“Is this a last minute party?”

“It’s a ball. A more refined celebration than a party,” _Tom_ said like he was repeating someone else’s words, “And, no. This has been planned for nearly a month now.”

“Ohh _hhh…_ ” Harry said, smugly, “Your date cancelled.”

Tom’s pleasant expression faltered for a second. His lip twitching in annoyance only bolstered Harry’s good mood, “Yes, I was.”

“Well, I am sorry, I would love to but I can’t go. I have Tommy to look after.” He bent down to pick up the little one who had not yet quite tired himself out in his adventuring around the apartment that night, fabric ball in hand again. Once in his arms, Tommy craned his neck to see the alpha as best he could. He was as happy to see the alpha as Harry was, it seemed. He held out the ball, like it was a prize, the alpha.

To be able to go out with the alpha _would_ be fantastic and it was disappointing to turn him down. Maybe the alpha would invite him out again, however, with more notice next time.

“Oh, of course. How about your landlady? She did offer to help and seemed happy to look after your son.” He accepted the small toy from Tommy to the baby’s immense glee, “Thank you.”

“It’s late notice for her don’t you think?” Though as he said that he got the idea that Tom had likely already spoken to her on his way in about this, as she would have needed to let him into the building. 

“I am sure it will be fine. Besides, it’s your fault my date for tonight cancelled on me.”

“My fault?” Harry laughed, “How can it possibly be my fault?”

“I was distracted with worry over a young omega and his child this week and forgot to reply to her to confirm.” Tom informed him matter-of-factly, “Besides, it’s my birthday today. You wouldn’t turn me down today of all days would you?”

“Is it? Happy Birthday, Tom. Really I would like to go, but…” Harry was a little flattered that the alpha had been so absorbed in him this week to forget about someone else he might have been interested in. Harry _did_ want to go, but, “I won’t fit in, you know. If this is as refined as you are implying, then I will look sorely out of place with even my nicest clothes.” He gestured to himself and the cheap attire he owned.

“If that is your only protest, then that is easily remedied.” The alpha grinned.

-

Turns out, ‘easy’ to the alpha was sending for his favorite seamstress, a Madame Bonnay. The frenchwoman was one of the few witches or wizards Harry had ever seen with a wand. They were hard to come by and much too expensive for most people to afford, not that many even had enough magic to use one anyway. Like the Aurors and Healers he’d seen using wands, Madame Bonnay wielded hers with a practiced ease.

The short, gray-haired older beta wasted no time, ushering Harry into his bedroom and out of sight of the alpha immediately after her arrival. 

She whipped up a whirlwind of fabric with confident swipes of her wand and Harry had been too mesmerised by her expertise to protest her disregard for much modesty. Ultimately she decided on dark greens and blacks, after pulling his large rounded glasses off his nose. His complaint at his lack of vision was cut off with a promise of temporary vision-correcting eye drops for the night. She banished the other lengths of cloth that had been wrapping around him back to her bag.

The darkest of the selected green material, nearly black, ended up making up the majority of the dress robes, the inside lined with lighter, more emerald-like hues that were soft and silky to the touch. The same green made up a shirt to go underneath and from the black material she fitted him with form-flattering slacks. Everything fit him so much better than anything else he’d ever worn, and the whole outfit felt light and comfortable. Even the boots that she pulled from the bag to finish off his dressing, were resized to fit his feet.

In no time at all he was paraded out into the main area of his apartment for Tom, who had just dropped off the baby with Harry’s landlady, to see. The way the alpha had looked at him when the Madame presented him in his new robes kept a splash of pink on his cheeks and gave him the confidence boost he needed after the intrusive fitting.

The last addition was a heavy, black fur lined coat, nicer than any of the ones he’d been eyeing earlier that week, and they were off. His hand on the arm of the alpha’s.

-

His nerves returned as they arrived at their destination and he got his first glimpse of the large and lavish looking ballroom. The ceilings were high and vaulted. Glittering chandeliers hung above the opulently dressed crowd. The center of the room was left clear for dancing and there were already plenty of people gracefully moving about the floor. 

Tom directed him not to the dance floor, but one of the numerous round tables surrounding it.

“I- oh, what do I say? I won’t know what anyone is talking about here.” Harry may look the part now, but there was no changing the fact that he grew up in a cupboard and would have not a single thing in common with anyone in this room. 

“You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to.”

“Won’t that- I don’t want them to think I’m rude.”

“No? You’d fit right in with some of them, then.” The alpha smiled. What kind of friends did this guy have?

“ _Tom.”_ Harry whined.

“Alright.” He patted the omega’s hand on his arm consolingly, “Do you know any other languages?” 

“No.” He exhaled sharply in panic. Good lord, were they going to be speaking in another _language_? Harry really would be out of place here.

“Relax. We can pretend that you do. I speak French, as they know, and I visit the country frequently. I will simply ask you yes or no questions. They will give up trying to communicate after a while and you can enjoy your meal in peace without any pressure to engage in conversations you don’t know about.”

“Oh, that… that sounds good.” Harry nodded. He could really be awkward in social situations. He would be much more comfortable observing. If Tom invited him out again he could remember what he’d heard here and be more prepared next time. “What are yes and no in French? I should know that at least, oh and hello…”

The alpha obliged, listing off the requested words and adding the words ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ to his list as well along with the phrase ‘it’s nice to meet you’. French sounded amazing in Tom’s voice. Harry never had any sort of interest in foreign languages, but now found himself wondering if just being able to hear the alpha speak it again would be reason enough.

Luckily, the basic words were familiar. He’d heard them used before, but hadn’t realized he’d retained that information. “Oh, I did know those words. I guess I’m just nervous.” He said quietly, since they had finally made their way across the vast room and were approaching their table.

“Don’t be.” Tom replied just as quietly before anyone at the table caught sight of them.

A beautiful woman in black dress robes, with wild curly dark hair, was the first to notice them. The smirk at the sight of the alpha froze on her face as she noticed Harry at his side. 

Tom helped Harry out of his heavy outer robe and draped it over the back of the chair once he pulled that out for Harry to sit in.

“Who might this be, Tom?” The woman asked with false cheer. Was this one of the rude ones Tom had mentioned? She definitely did not appear pleased to see Harry. “I did not expect you to be able to find a date on such short notice.”

_Oh._ This was the date that had cancelled on Tom. She wanted or expected the man to show up alone.

“This is Harry, I met him in France over the summer. I was quite fortunate that he agreed to accompany me on, as you said, such short notice. I’m afraid he does not speak English, however.” Tom said pleasantly, then introduced Harry to each of them. Harry only understood which part of what the alpha was saying thanks to the man’s inflection and even then he missed some of the names, or forgot them by the time Tom had said a few more.

What he had picked up was that the woman that had spoken was Bellatrix Black. To one side of her sat her date, Rodolphus Lestrange, followed by his brother Rabastan and his own date. On the other side of Bellatrix was a Narcissa and then Lucius, maybe an Augustus after that… All of the names were so unfamiliar. Harry just nodded along keeping his smile, these names would be repeated as they spoke to each other, he just had to pay attention to who was being addressed.

“You’ve known this gorgeous omega for months and didn’t introduce us?” Rodolphus- no, Rabastan, Harry thought, whined good naturedly, “I would have taken up French!”

Harry tried not to react to the unexpected compliment. He wasn’t supposed to be able to understand english tonight. And anyway, it was only because of the way he was dressed.

“Yes. What a pity.” The first woman said thinly.

The other man was not deterred. “Tom, if you don’t mind, would you ask Harry if he would like to dance?” Rabastan asked. 

“I haven’t even had a dance with him yet.”

“Does the boy even know how to dance?” The woman looked at Harry judgmentally making Harry bristle. For the first time in his life he was thankful for the mandatory dance lessons his school held before their one dance. He may not be great, but he could follow someone else’s lead just fine.

“Well, I’m sure Harry would like to eat first, the dinner should be brought out soon. However, I will ask.” Harry smiled as Tom turned to him speaking what must be a request to dance in French. He was grateful that the alpha had provided a reason already for him to decline, but he’d already made up his mind. 

“ _Oui._ ” Harry replied, visibly shocking the alpha.

Rabastan stood immediately and made his way around the table to assist Harry out of his seat. Harry fought to keep from grinning at the dark haired woman as they made their way into the crowd on the dancefloor.

-

The dancing turned out to have been a mistake. Not because Harry had made a fool of himself, but because Rabastan wanted another dance, then another and when they finally returned someone else wanted to dance. It seemed he might have annoyed Tom, too, as he was no help in turning down the rest of the requests.

By the time he’d returned to the table after the umpteenth dance with the fourth partner- Avery, he thought, but wasn’t sure- his feet had started to ache. When yet another tried to catch his eye he hurried over to Tom’s side, looking at him pleadingly.

Luckily he took pity on him and stood, addressing the table apologetically, “I think it is about time I had a dance with my own date.”

Once they were a safe distance from the table they were able to speak freely in English again. “Have you had fun?” Tom sounded mildly petulant and Harry got the impression that he was jealous.

“I just wanted to show that Bellatrix woman wrong.” Harry moaned, “I didn’t think I would be dancing all night. My feet are aching.”

“Mmm it was a long time, wasn’t it. You missed out on every course of the meal they brought to our table.”

“ _What?_ ” Harry’s stomach rumbled at the realization that he’d missed out on what was likely a fantastic meal. Probably the best meal in his life! “Tom, I’m hungry.”

The alpha laughed and Harry felt the vibrations of it from being pressed so close. “Why don’t we take off, then? We can get something to eat elsewhere and join the crowds to welcome the new year.”

“You don’t mind? I thought you really wanted to be here tonight.”

“I do not mind at all. Let’s go say our goodbyes.” He steered them back in the direction of their table. Harry was relieved to see that Bellatrix and her date were not seated, likely she finally accepted to dance once Tom was no longer at the table to talk to.

Tom said their goodbyes graciously to the few that were still seated and draped the warm new coat back over Harry’s shoulders. 

Unfortunately, they did not make it out of the ballroom completely before Bellatrix spotted them. She was casually waiting by the doors, date nowhere in sight as they approached. 

“Leaving already? It’s so near midnight, Tom, you sure you can’t stay just a little longer so we can ring in the new year together?” She didn’t even spare a glance for Harry and he fought to keep his face neutral. He wasn’t supposed to understand what she was saying, he reminded himself again. “Rabastan or Rodolphus, or _both_ , would be happy to entertain your _date_ to give us some space.”

“No, Bella. If you recall, you informed me that you would be going with Rodolphus, instead, just this afternoon. You should give him the courtesy of at least a few minutes of your attention.”

“Fine.” She turned her gaze to Harry, looking him up and down with a critical eye and a sneer, “I admit I was mildly impressed to see you found a date so quickly. Not the worst you could have done, either, but not really a catch is he? Your seamstress’ assistant, maybe?” She turned to look at the alpha again, “I would have just as soon come alone.”

“It’s a wonder you didn’t have to with that personality.” Harry heard himself say dryly before he could think better of it.

The woman’s eyes whipped back to him, wide with shock. Her expression quickly morphed into outrage, “How _dare—!”_

Tom huffed out a startled laugh beside him, followed by another, then another, and he was soon leaning onto Harry as he failed to contain himself, laughing harder every time he looked up at the half angry, half mortified face of the woman.

Harry led the alpha out of the ballroom, grinning widely as Bellatrix stormed off.

-

Hot dogs from a street vendor was not the kind of meal Harry had in mind when he agreed to accompany Tom that evening, but he didn’t mind one bit. They kept close together as they fought their way through the crowded streets of the city center. The rowdiness and the volume of the crowd amplified when someone called out there was less than a minute to go.

They stopped moving, holding on to each other to prevent being separated as the crowds cheered and they waited for the countdown to start. Harry marvelled at the massive sparkling numbers floating in the sky above one of the buildings. It was one of the biggest displays of magic he’d seen.

“I hope you had a good birthday, Tom.” Harry said as clearly as he could with the noise around them. 

“I think it was one of my best.” Tom turned to face him fully, warm smile in place, “Are you free tomorrow?”

“I planned on taking Tommy out to the park tomorrow… you could join us, if you like.”

“I’ll be there.” He promised.

The omega felt pressure building in his chest and a shiver ran through him that had nothing to do with the cold. Tom really _was_ interested in him, wasn’t he? He could feel his face warming the longer the alpha stared warmly at him. He bit his lip, not sure what to say next, the alpha’s eyes followed the movement.

**“** **_TEN!”_ **The crowd roared, startling Harry into breaking eye contact.

**_“NINE!”_ **

**_“EIGHT!”_ **

The numbers flashed and sparkled their multicolored countdown along with the crowds’ voices.

**_“SEVEN!”_ **

**_“SIX!”_ **

He turned back to Tom to see his reaction to the beautiful magic above them, only to find the man had not looked away.

**_“FIVE!_ **

**_“FOUR!”_ **

Harry didn’t fight as the man pulled him closer in his arms. He couldn’t hear Tom’s voice over the crowd, but he could see his lips form his name, ‘ _Harry.’_

**_“THREE!”_ **

Harry’s heart pounded in his chest.

**_“TWO!”_ **

One of Tom’s hands pressed against his lower back while the other cradled the back of his head, tilting it up as a thumb rubbed soothing circles behind his ear.

**_“ONE!”_ **

The noise turned thunderous around them as the clock struck midnight and a new year began. The countdown was replaced by shimmering numbers of the new year and more vibrant pops of light and actual fireworks exploded around them. 

Harry heard and saw none of it, mesmerized entirely by Tom mouthing the words, ‘ _Happy new year.’_

Then leaning down, at last, and pressing their lips together softly at first, then more insistently. Harry reciprocated, pressing closer, rising on his toes to wrap his arms around his alpha’s neck and allowing him to deepen the kiss.

It was the best new year he’d celebrated, if not the best moment of his life so far. He melted into Tom’s embrace as the alpha continued to claim his mouth gently, but surely, and warmth built in every part of the omega.

-

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


_Your son is hiding something important from you that I think you would like to know. He’s had a child with one of your own employees. You have a grandson!_

Thomas Riddle senior stared down at the messily scrawled note in his hand, resolving to get to the truth of the matter in the morning. His son _had_ been acting differently this last week. Or had it been longer and he had just only now noticed it? 

If his son was meeting up with the mother of his child and the child himself, Thomas was going to find them, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How cheesy do you want this ending?
> 
> Last chapter may be a few days more. I think I've got the dialogue done and just need to flesh out the rest to make it coherent, but this chapter just needed editing and I still spent too much time on it. lol


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, thank you, thank you, to everyone that has read or commented or bookmarked or subscribed! Or any combination of those lol I’m glad this has been enjoyable even if they’re not the same as their canon counterparts. I tried to keep their individual pasts similar, but they’re considerably different people without being a Dark Lord or the Boy Who Lived.
> 
> Hopefully this last chapter holds up to the other two. :) I should have spent a little longer on this but I’ll be heading to bed soon and tomorrow I have to help my dad take down a tree and then go to work, so I wouldn’t be able to write again for at least another day. And I just really wanted to be able to post this within a week.

Little Tommy crying for his breakfast woke Harry early the morning of the new year. Despite being out late, he was awake instantly at his son’s cries. He scented his baby gently with comforting pheromones as he waited for the milk to heat and thought about how well the night before had gone. 

Tommy’s cries quieted and he turned his big shiny eyes up at the dark-haired omega. Harry wiped the wetness off the baby’s cheeks as he spoke softly to him, “Mommy had the best night, sweetheart.”

The baby was far too young to understand conversation yet, but he liked the sound of Harry’s voice anyway. Harry enjoyed talking, too, without any fear of judgement. His little boy loved him unconditionally and listened raptly as Harry prattled on about the ball while he drank down his bottle.

After Tommy was fed, Harry allowed him to roam the apartment again. He kept an eye on him as he cleaned the bottle, made breakfast for himself, then cleaned up his own dishes. He took a glance at the clock and was disappointed to see he still had hours to go before lunch, when he was to meet Tom in the park.

He was already buzzing with nervous excitement for their- was it a date? Last night had been, right? Even if Tommy was there, it was still a date right? Yes, Harry decided it was. And he was eager for the time to pass and meet up with the alpha again. 

Until then, he needed to work off some of his energy. 

So did Tommy, Harry mused to himself as the baby scooted across the floor after one of the landlady’s kneazles that had been hiding under his sofa. Harry chuckled and let the annoyed and frazzled creature out of the apartment.

Tommy pouted up at him for letting his prey escape until the omega picked up one of his toys and he was back to all smiles. 

Yeah, they could both work off some energy. If Tommy was a little tired by the time of the walk, then he wouldn’t need to worry about him trying to scale the sides of the carriage. 

Harry tried to not keep looking at the clock.

-

In the end, Harry left early for the park. 

Tommy was bundled up in the warmest of the clothes Tom had provided and Harry tucked extra blankets in the carriage for good measure, one of them the scented blanket from the alpha. He layed a mild warming charm over the carriage, too. 

The baby had worn himself out and was napping. Tommy wouldn’t even notice they were outside, at least not for a little while. He never slept long, seemily full of boundless energy. 

Harry wasn’t sure why he was so excited for Tommy to be big enough for a toy broom, now that he really thought about it. Tommy was quick and energetic now, and he could only crawl. When he was able to walk or  _ fly  _ Harry would never be able to keep up or catch up.

Harry bundled up himself with the warm coat he got last night. It looked out of place on him now with his shabbier blue sweater, scuffed round glasses, and the rest of his cheap and worn clothes, but he wasn’t about to switch it out for his old coat. Lastly, he wrapped a scarf around his neck, both for the cold and to keep people from judging his lack of bondmark.

He started a slow stroll following the winding path around the park. The place was beautiful, even now in the winter when the trees were bare. It would be nice to see when spring came around and everything filled out and gained color. This would have been a nice place for him to have come to escape his relatives for a little while when he’d still been stuck with them. It had been too far, though, and he wouldn’t have spent the time walking here when the closer park was just fine.

Hopefully, now he would be able to explore the park more. The only other time he’d been there was for the small quidditch tournament… a little more than a week ago. It felt longer than that, honestly. So much had changed for him in that amount of time. 

One of the dreams he’d had when he was at the Dursley’s, other than just being able to leave, was to have a family of his own. That had seemed so far off, even once he left them since he’d been so absorbed in finding a job and a place to live first. Gaining that dream family so quickly was unexpected.

Granted, he seemed to be getting that family out of order right now. He thought he’d find a mate first and then have children, not the other way around, but it seemed to be going well.

Harry was about to start his second lap around the park when he spotted his second hopeful member of that family. Tom was standing near one of the entrances to the park. The area had a round cement fountain, drained for the season, and was surrounded by benches. 

It was where most of the other park goers had gathered, especially others with their strollers or carriages. Harry had avoided it for that reason. People could bring up some uncomfortable questions about children and their parents. No matter how well intentioned they were, Harry didn’t need them bringing down his mood.

Tom, though, obviously thought Harry was among them, or would be when he arrived, since Tom was early, too. Harry hastened his pace over to him, as much as he could without jostling Tommy in his sleep.

“Tom!” Harry called out as he neared. Tom turned to see him and suddenly Harry felt awkward. What was he supposed to say after last night? Or do? Was he supposed to greet him with a kiss? (They were together, right?)

“You’re early.” Tom tilted his head slightly at him, “Have you been here long? Your cheeks are red, are you cold?”

“Not too long.” Harry said as he tried to will his blush away, “Have you?”

“I just arrived. How is Tommy this morning?” The alpha asked as he directed them to an empty bench.

“He was up early. We played for a while after breakfast to work through some of his energy. I think he’s still asleep.”

Tom’s eyes widened slightly as he looked down into the carriage. Curious, Harry peeked in as well. Tommy  _ was  _ still sleeping, but he’d pulled one of the blankets up to him- the green one from Tom.

Harry locked the wheels on the carriage and sat down watching quietly as flickers of unknown emotion appeared on Tom’s face. Eventually Tom sat down next to him, “There is a warming charm on the carriage. Did you do that yourself?”

“Yes, maybe a little unnecessary with the warm clothes you’ve provided and the blankets, but I can’t help it.” 

“There is no harm in wanting to be sure your son is comfortable. I can restore it when it wears off next.” 

“Oh, it should be fine for a few hours.” He didn’t want to go into detail of why he was so proficient at the charms, even if Tom was already somewhat aware of the fact that he’d been homeless for a little while after leaving his relatives, “I’ve had some practice with the charm.”

Little fingers, followed by a knit cap-covered head came into view over the edge of the carriage. Tommy’s large inquisitive eyes locked on Tom’s form and Harry laughed softly. “There you are! I should have known you’d wait until Tom was here to wake up.”

He reached forward to adjust the knit cap so that it covered Tommy’s head better. It had slipped in either his sleep or when he’d wiggled and pulled himself up to see them. When he pulled back and looked at Tom, the other was staring at him contemplatively.

“What?”

“It’s hard to believe a week ago you didn’t want to raise your child. You’re so good with him now.”

“Ah, I guess I got used to it.” Harry shrugged and looked back at Tommy. He still wished that Tom-  _ anyone actually _ \- would believe him if he said that Tommy wasn’t really his, but it wasn’t worth bringing up now. Maybe he’d get Tom to understand one day. Still, he knew that if he tried it now he’d only start an argument and he wanted to enjoy this date. 

Tommy babbled, face scrunching up. “He wants your attention, Tom.” Harry told the alpha.

“Oh. What should I do?”

“You could hold him. You know he likes being around you.”

Tom reached over to pick the babe up and Tommy babbled happily. When Tom reclaimed his seat with an armful of wiggling baby, Harry scooted closer, pleased at the arrangement.

“I thought you said he was active earlier this morning, how is he still so energetic?” Tom looked a little overwhelmed, to Harry’s amusement. Tommy wriggled until Tom arranged him how the baby wanted, facing the alpha so he could reach up and touch his face.

“I’ve been wondering about that myself.” Harry told him with a wry grin, “I’m a little nervous for when he can start walking.”

Tom turned to him slightly alarmed at the idea. He caught sight of something past Harry and stood, passing Tommy to him quickly, but carefully. 

Harry accepted the child without hesitation, glad that Tommy wasn’t distraught with the exchange after finally being held by the alpha. He turned, too, to see what- no,  _ who  _ had gotten Tom’s attention.

“Father?” Tom said, surprised, standing slightly in front of where Harry was seated on the bench, “What are you doing here?”

“I wasn’t expecting to see you here, myself, Tom.” The older man replied. He appeared to be in a good mood, Harry thought, as he walked up to them, “When you said you were going out today, I thought you might have taken another portkey out of the country again, not have gone for a stroll in the park.”

“Travelling isn’t my only interest, you know.”

“Indeed.” He smiled and looked over at Harry with the baby in the stroller, “Won’t you introduce me?”

“Of course. This is Harry Potter and his son, Tommy.” Tom moved out of the way so that his father could see Harry and the baby fully. The alpha seemed to be suspicious of why the other man was there. “Harry, this is my father, Thomas Riddle, though I think you already know that.”

“Tommy,” The older man echoed, eyes soft as he looked down at the baby in the crib. Tom and Harry exchanged confused glances while he was distracted, “Wonderful. Just wonderful.” He mused quietly.

“It’s nice to meet you, Sir.” Harry said. 

“Likewise, Mr Potter.” He hesitated for a few moments, shifting from one foot to the other lightly, almost unnoticeably, “Ah, if you don’t mind, would I be able to hold the dear? Just for a moment?”

“Sure, sure.” Harry stood with Tommy and handed him over carefully to the man, who held him like he was the most fragile weight he’d ever held. Tommy, for his part, gazed back at the new man curiously. Thankfully he didn’t seem to dislike Tom’s father. He was fine with Arabella as well, but he wailed in the orphanage worker’s arms so he wasn’t sure how Tommy typically reacted to new people yet.

“Father, is something wrong?” Tom asked, somewhat alarmed, when it looked like the man might cry.

“Everything is wonderful. I was just thinking about how much I missed out with you, son.” He looked up at them, “You were already too big to hold when I finally learned you existed.”

He took a steading breath, and returned the baby back to Harry. “Thank you, Harry. You’ve made me so happy.”

“Ah, no problem.” Harry glanced over at Tom quickly in confusion. Was Tom’s father always this emotional? He was nothing like what Harry expected. “It looks like Tommy likes you.”

Tommy really had been calm in the older Alpha’s arms. Even now, Tommy was still peering at the new man from Harry’s arms. Being Tom’s father, he probably had a similar scent that Tommy recognized.

The man hid a suspicious sniffle behind a hand, “That’s wonderful.  _ Wonderful. _ ”

“Father, are you  _ sure  _ you are alright? I haven’t seen you act-”

“Yes, better than ever, now.” The man said a little exasperatedly and straightened himself out, “Harry, it was lovely meeting you and your son.” He looked at the two of them with a kind smile, then, with a more pointed look at his own son, “ _ Tom,  _ we’ll have much to talk about at dinner.”

Harry sat on the bench as the man departed. They both remained in silence for a few minutes after he left.

Finally, Harry ventured, “That… Tom, was that weird or is just me?”

“Not you. It was weird.” Tom muttered staring in the direction that his father left in, “It’s like he… thought… _ ” _

The alpha turned wide eyes at Tommy, “ _ Oh!” _

“Oh?” 

“The two of us together like this- Tommy’s name-” 

“ _ Oh.”  _ Harry understood at once, Tom’s father thought the baby was both of theirs. Amusement welled up in him and he began to laugh at the alpha’s predicament. Tom was now going to get the same treatment Harry had gotten from the alpha himself. “He thinks you-” he tried to say between bursts of laughter.

“That  _ I’m  _ the father!” Tom was in a state of disbelief, “I- I need to go talk to him.”

“Good luck!” Harry laughed after him.

-

Tom needed more than luck, it turned out. 

His father was only seeing what he wanted to see. And what did he want to see? Apparently Tommy as his grandson.

“That is not my baby!” Tom said as calmly as he could for the dozenth time since returning to the manor. His patience was quickly wearing thin at his father’s unbelievable persistence.

“Nonsense, Tom! I saw the baby myself!” The older man couldn’t stand still, pacing around his office, “Even you saw how the baby was calm in my arms, he recognized me as his grandfather!”

“He could not have recognized you, because you _ are not _ his grandfather.” Tom stressed, slowly enunciating each of his words, “The baby was calm, because he is a calm baby!”

“The baby looks just like you!”

“Why? Because he has dark hair? That’s hardly a unique characteristic.” 

“Well as a baby—” 

“You never saw what I looked like as a baby, how can you know that?” Tom cut him off harshly, mood instantly dropping as it always did when they mentioned his early childhood.

His father didn’t back down, “You’re my spitting image and I’ve seen my own baby photos. Should I pull them out for you?”

“Would you just listen? That is not my baby. It doesn’t look like either of us  _ because we are not related to him.”  _

“There is a clear resemblance!” Thomas smacked his hand down on his desk with certainty, “I’d know that was my grandson even out of a hundred babies, just as I would have known you were my son if I had seen you sooner!”

Tom let out an undignified scream into his hands, “That. Is. Not. My. Baby.” He bit out.

“Tom, I don’t understand why you feel the need to deny this. I saw you with your omega, clearly he returns your feelings and you even have a child with him! ”

“How many times do I have to say it? I do not have a son!”

“I won’t listen to any more of your outlandish protests. That is my grandson. I will not miss out on any of his life like I missed out on yours.” He said with finality, “You will marry that omega and bring my grandson into this house.”

Tom opened his mouth to protest further.

“One way or another, I will have my grandson, Tom. Omega or not.”

-

Tom burst into the apartment without knocking. “Harry!”

“Well, hello to you, too.” Harry smiled. “I take it you talked to your father?”

The alpha looked a bit frantic and frustrated. Harry tried his best to contain his glee at the idea that Tom had been forced to try and convince his own father that the baby wasn’t his, but he knew he was less than successful. He could feel the wide grin splitting his face. 

It was a heck of a lot funnier when it was happening to someone else. Especially when that someone else had done the exact same thing to him. Though, he imagined Tom’s father believed him in the end, after all, they were related and Tom lived with the man. He wouldn’t really think that his own son could hide something like this from him.

“He won’t believe me. He still thinks that I’m the father of your baby.”

Oh. Maybe not.

“Well…” Harry wasn’t sure what he should say. He picked Tommy up holding him out and looking at the baby’s smiling face and then to Tom’s stressed one as if to compare. “You do look alike.” He tried to lighten the mood.

“That’s not helping.” The alpha grouced.

“Sorry, I just don’t know what to say. You can’t blame your father for getting the idea.” He settled Tommy on his hip, and the baby babbled in Tom’s direction at the sight of him, “At least he’ll believe  _ you  _ eventually.” He muttered somewhat bitterly.

“He won’t. He’s convinced Tommy is mine and he doesn’t want to miss out on any of his life like he did with me.”

Harry wanted to ask what was wrong with that. The omega liked that they already looked like they were a family, he liked it a lot. Tom though, wasn’t ready, so he wasn’t about to push when the alpha was so upset. 

That and it was sweet that Tom’s father wanted to be a big part of who he thought was his own grandson’s life. Harry didn’t know much about why Tom had been in the orphanage, but it sounded like Tom’s father had not wanted his son to be there and clearly regretted it now.

“What can we do? Do you want me to tell him you aren’t?” The omega asked.

“He won’t believe you either,” No surprise there, Harry thought, “We need proof.”

“Proof?”

“The real father. Where is he? I’ll talk to him myself, you won’t have to talk to him again if you don’t want to.”

“Tom…” Harry floundered for what to say. There  _ was  _ no father, but Tom still didn’t believe him about Tommy not actually being his. He’d stopped protesting because of his job, and then he didn’t care anymore because he wanted to keep the baby after a while. Or earlier, he just hadn’t wanted to argue. Now, though… what did he say? “That’s not possible… I don’t even know where…”

Not a lie. Harry hardly knew anything at all about Tommy’s birth mother and the father, well, Harry knew even less. Which was nothing. The father might not even be alive for all he knew.

The alpha growled in frustration. He ran a hand through his neatly styled hair, to Harry’s surprise. The entire time he’d known the man- even before they had been talking- the man had never had a hair out of place, “You’re certain?”

“I’m sorry, Tom. I’m sure this will be okay though, I’ll tell him and keep telling him until he believes us.” He tried to comfort, resting his hand on Tom’s arm. The situation was no longer amusing if his alpha was this stressed out.

“You don’t understand. He will take the baby from you.” He gazed seriously down at him.

“What?” Harry reared back with Tommy pulled close.

“As long as he believes that the child is mine he won’t rest until he has him in his house. You may be the child’s mother, but he has money and influence. He will have his way.”

“But… why would he do that? He- I wouldn’t keep the baby from him if he  _ was  _ the grandfather. Why would he..?”

“He thinks I’ll just marry you.” Tom bit out, frustration seeping from him, “He wants a second chance with a family so bad he wants to force me into a relationship and for me to raise a child that’s not even mine!”

Tom seemed to realize he said the wrong thing the second it came out of his mouth.

“Oh, Harry, I didn’t-”

“No, you did.” Harry said as calmly as he could muster, taking deep breaths to keep from crying, “I’m glad I understand how you feel now before this went any further.”

“Harry-”

“No, Tom. I don’t want to hear it. You shouldn’t have led me on if you felt this way.”

Silence reigned. Tom looked like he wanted to say more but was unsure if Harry would even let him. Eventually Harry sighed, “Just leave.”

He did.

Harry wasn’t sure how long he stood there after Tom left just trying to calm himself down. Tommy was fidgeting in his arms, clearly sensing his distress. 

Mrs Figg walked in probably only a few minutes after the alpha departed, though to Harry it felt like much longer.

“Is everything alright dear? I saw that nice alpha coming and going in such a hurry. He looked upset.” She said cautiously.

“His father wants to take Tommy away.” Harry looked at her pleadingly.

Her eyes widened, “ _ Why?” _

Harry explained as quickly as he could and with as few words as possible around the lump in his throat. He finished with, “So Tom says that his father won’t believe it unless I have the actual father tell him as proof.”

“And that’s just not possible, I take it?” She asked, tapping her chin with the side of her fist as she thought.

“No, it’s not.” He breathed out.

“Well, that’s no reason to not find another!” She said with a light in her eye.

“E-excuse me?” He stuttered in surprise.

“There’s this nice boy just a few doors down. Always willing to lend a hand whenever I need him.” She took a hold of Harry’s free hand and pulled him out the door, “I’m sure he won’t mind pretending to be the boy’s father to help you out once he hears what’s happening.”

-

Tom had screwed up. 

Oh, he could make it up to the omega later, but first he had to make sure his father believed that the child was not his. To do that Tom had to find the real father. Harry had not been helpful, not that it was his fault, apparently the guy was not worth remembering anyway. Even if Harry did know where he was, he wouldn’t be able to ask the omega again. So, who else might know? 

From what he learned about the omega since they started talking, he didn’t have a lot of people close to him. Hardly anyone. His parents were dead and he had been raised by his Aunt and Uncle who- as Harry put it- ‘didn’t like him much’. Tom got the impression that was an understatement. So, friends… Harry didn’t mention anyone.

Wait. 

There was one.

Harry hadn’t mentioned him, but Tom had seen the beta talking to Harry at work plenty of times. Enough to make him think that the beta was interested in the omega. He was also the same person that Harry had gone to that quidditch tournament with. 

He was his only shot at finding out who the father of Harry’s baby was. 

It was simple enough to look up information on Ronald Weasley, since the beta worked for them, and within half an hour he was at the beta’s door. 

“Just a minute!” He heard from inside. Some shuffling, like there were some hasty attempts at cleaning, then a breathless red-head was opening the door with a smile, “Hello, what—?” The smile fell when he recognized Tom. Panicked, he tried to shut the door, but Tom moved quicker.

The alpha pushed his way into the apartment, wondering absently what the place looked like before the shoddy attempt at cleaning a few minutes ago if this was what it still looked like. 

_ Disgusting. _

Weasley looked like he was ready to flee. Tom flung the door shut with a burst of his magic and the man jumped. 

“You are friends with Harry Potter, correct?” He asked.

“I.. yes, kind of. I haven’t known him all that long, but yes.” He stuttered in obvious confusion.

“You are aware he has a son?” The beta nodded unsurely, “Do you know where or who the father is?”

“Uh.”

“If you know,  _ you will tell me. _ ” Tom stalked closer. 

The beta backed up in fear, “Wait! I thought- aren’t  _ you  _ the father?”

Tom halted his movement in shock, “Why would you think that? I thought you were friends with Harry, didn't he ever mention anything about the baby’s father?” 

“No, until I saw you in his apartment on Christmas Eve I didn’t even know he  _ had  _ a baby. I’ve only known him for about a month- that’s when he started working at the store, but he never mentioned anything about family let alone being a mother.” Tom let the man ramble, “I don’t know how he managed to keep quiet about the whole thing. I’ve got quite a few siblings, you see, so I know that kids need a lot of time- my mother reminds me all the time. But Harry- We even hung out a few times! Or I saw him at the get togethers…”

Tom tuned him out as he continued to go on an on. 

Harry had free time before Christmas to go to events with other coworkers, but that couldn’t be possible. The baby needed looking after and Harry had no one else to help him out. 

_ Tom  _ was the one to tell the omega’s landlady that Harry had a child. She’d been just as surprised. She’d never heard the babe cry in the night, she said. At the time Tom thought Harry may have just had enough magic for a silencing spell…

If Harry wasn’t being helped by the landlady and was still going out… that would have meant he was leaving the baby unattended in the apartment. That thought would have sent Tom into a rage a week ago, but after he’d seen the omega with the baby… there was no way that could have happened. 

No, Harry had not left his baby alone in the apartment those months because Harry did not have a baby, did he?

Oh, Merlin, Tommy was not Harry’s. 

Harry had not been lying when he said that the baby wasn’t his. No one believed him.  _ Tom hadn’t believed him _ and had forced him to take care of the baby. 

How- why was Harry even willing to talk to Tom after that?

Worse, was now. Now that Harry did want the baby- and that was clear to see- Tom’s father was going to take the baby from him. 

“Ah, Mr. Riddle? Sir?” Weasley asked nervously. 

Tom stared at him, thinking. He would need to make it up to Harry for everything that had happened, but that would come later. The first step was still to rid his father of the belief that the child was his grandson. 

“Harry needs your help.” He said at last.

-

“A young couple is here to see you, Sir. The Diggory’s I believe they said.”

Thomas Riddle looked up from the letter he had been penning to his legal team. “I don’t know who they are. Send them away.”

“They said it concerned their son, Tommy.”

“Tommy?  _ Their son?  _ Send them in!” It couldn’t be…

The butler left and seconds later the omega from the park, still bundled up, nervously entered, a taller blonde Alpha following in behind him. “Do sit down.” He said, nodding at the high backed chairs a few spaces in front of his desk. 

“I just spoke with your son.” The omega told him after he took one of the seats, hands twisting nervously in his lap, “He said that you think my- er,  _ our-”  _ he reached across the space between the chairs to take the alpha’s hand clumsily, “son is his. I just wanted to clear that up. That Tommy is ours- as in Cedric and I- not Tom.”

“You are the father?” Thomas turned to the alpha, heart sinking at the possibility that might not actually have a grandson.

He nodded quickly, “Yes, the baby is mine. I am sorry for the confusion, sir.”

He sent a confused glance at the omega, “But your last name isn’t Diggory, it’s Potter. I saw your records.” He still held out hope. He glanced to their grasped hands, “There’s not even a ring.”

The omega pulled back his hand, “Oh, I just haven’t gotten around to changing my name yet and the ring, uh…”

“I haven’t been able to afford one yet, Sir.” The alpha told him regretfully. 

“I see.” Thomas slumped back in his seat. So that’s how it was. Of course it was too much to hope that his son might have met someone and had a child for him to dote over. It really had looked like they were interested in each other, but maybe he was just seeing what he wanted to see. 

He took a deep breath and addressed the young couple once more, apologetically, “I appreciate you explaining everything to me. I’m sorry that-”

“Father!” Tom burst in the office, shoving a tall red-head in front of him.

“Hello, uh, Mr. Riddle. T-Tom here was telling me that you think my son is actually his son.” The boy forced a laugh as they walked closer. “That’s just silly because, well, that’s my son.”

“See, Father?” Tom said surely.

Relief washed through Thomas at the display. 

He grinned back at his son, confusing him. He waved his hand in the direction of the chairs in front of his desk where his  _ son’s mate _ and the other alpha were seated out of view. The omega buried his face in his hands. “Oh, I see alright.”

Tom stepped forward to peer at the seat’s inhabitants, eyes widening. 

“I  _ see  _ that we have three possible fathers for this omega’s child, but I think we all know who the father really is, Tom.” He cast a doubtful gaze on both the blonde and redhead, “My grandson doesn’t even remotely resemble either of them, for crying out loud.” He scoffed.

“No you don’t see.” Tom stepped in front of Harry, as if to protect him, “The baby is not mine, Father. I’m just trying to keep you from taking Harry’s child from him. I think it’s safe to say that’s why he’s here, too.” He pointed at Cedric who nodded.

“I don’t even really know him. I was just trying to help.” He said kindly, standing up as well.

“Help? You were trying to keep my grandson from me. You, too, Weasley was it? You work for me don’t you?”

The beta nodded stepping closer.

“I could get you both in serious trouble for this! Pretending to be the father of the children of my son’s mate!” He glared at them.

“Woah, I’m sorry!” Weasley stepped up in front of the desk, hands raised, “I don’t want to be in the way. I’m not the father!”

“I’m not either!” Cedric said coming closer, too.

Tom glared at the other two before turning to him, “That doesn’t automatically make it me, I’m not the father!” 

“I don’t care who the father is!” He said sternly over their protests, “ **_I’m_ ** the grandfather.” He beamed.

“Fine,” His son hissed, “Harry will-” He stopped when he turned to find the chair empty.

Thomas jumped up, the omega was gone. “He’s going to hide my grandson!”

-

Harry flung whatever he could grab into his bag. 

He couldn’t take much, there wasn’t nearly enough time to actually pack. A week ago he didn’t have many belongings, but Tom had gifted him so much that now he was struggling to figure out what to take, what would be necessary. It would be the baby stuff, of course. 

Whatever he could grab for Tommy was first.

The baby was waiting in Mrs Figg’s room downstairs. She was dressing him in warmer clothes for their escape while he packed. 

He did a quick scan of the room around him to make sure he didn’t miss anything important and closed up the bag. He swung it over his shoulders and ran out his door, not even bothering to shut it. At the bottom of the steps he caught a glimpse of movement through the glass on the front door—

Tom and his father were already here!

He darted into his landlady’s room before they could see him.

“They’re here!” He whispered in a panic to her, shutting the door behind himself.

She’d already redressed Tommy and passed him over to Harry. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep them from finding you. Just go in my bedroom there and stay quiet.” She pushed him in the direction of the door leading to said room.

Harry nodded and hid in the room she pointed to. 

He heard frantinc rapping on the front door of the apartment building, muffled slightly by the distance and other doors between them. Arabella’s voice was quieter than the knocking had been as she asked what they wanted. 

Thomas’ demanding voice carried much clearer, “Where is he? Where is my grandson?”

“Is Harry here?” He heard Tom ask less demadingly.

“He’s not here. Harry moved out. Go on up and check if you don’t believe me.  _ Go on! _ ” He winced as Arabella raised her voice right back. 

He bounced Tommy up and down gently, trying to keep him calm. He could sense his unease with the loud voices and then the stomping up the stairs of what must have been Tom’s father.

“Please, what do you know? Where is Harry?” That was Tom now. He sounded worried… no Harry couldn’t think about him right now. Harry couldn’t let the man’s father take Tommy from him. 

“I’m sorry, but he didn’t say.” Her voice was clearer, she was back in her room. Probably trying to just get the man to leave.

“Please. If you have any idea where they are, I need to talk to him.”

Tommy perked up at the sound of Tom’s voice. He turned his head and before Harry could cover his mouth, babbled loudly at the direction of the door.

Whatever else was being said in the other room cut off. 

“Now, wait  _ just a minute, young man!”  _ He heard Arabella scold, too late as the door to the room flew open and Tom zeroed in on him.

“ _ Don’t _ .” Harry whispered harshly, voice nearly a hiss, “I won’t let him take my baby!”

Tom pushed right into his personal space, without hesitation, and pulled him and Tommy into his arms. Harry tensed, uncertain, but Tommy,  _ the little traitor _ , giggled happily at the proximity.

“I thought you’d apparated away already. I didn’t have any idea of where you might have gone.”

“Can’t apparate with a baby. I thought you read the book-!” Harry continued to whisper-shout even though Tom was  _ not lowering his voice! _

“You were going to leave and-”

Harry tilted his head up to glare at the man, “I have to! Your father-” 

Tom nodded face serious, “Wants me to marry you and not miss out on my child’s life-”

“And you don’t want to raise someone else’s kid.  _ I get it.”  _ Harry tried to squirm away.

“But Tommy is as much my son as he is yours isn’t he?”

“What?” Harry stared at him confused. 

“You named him after me, didn’t you? The same day you got him.”

Harry blinked up at him in shock. Did he—

“You  _ know?” _

“Yes, I know.” The alpha continued to gaze down at him, holding him tight, “I am sorry I didn’t believe you, Harry. I put you in a horrible situation without listening to you or to reason. I even took the word of Mrs Cole over yours, when I know she never believed me as a child. I think it’s my turn to take responsibility.”

“How? Why?” He didn’t want to think it, but was Tom going to take Tommy away from him now. Because he felt bad? Harry didn’t want that either!

“After giving you a child, the least I could do is make an honest omega out of you.” Tom cracked a smile, “That is, if you’re willing to admit that  _ I’m _ the father of this boy.”

Tommy looked up at him with a smile. He knew the boy didn’t have a clue as to what was going on, but Harry got the impression that he was just thinking  _ I dare you to disagree.  _ Or, maybe now Harry was the one seeing what he wanted to see.

Either way, he huffed out an incredulous laugh.

“Yes, Tommy’s yours.”

“And you even named him after me.”

“Yes. I did.” He smiled.

“About time.” Tom Senior huffed behind them, a bit out of breath it seemed. Harry turned, startled. “I was beginning to wonder if anyone was going to be honest around here.”

Though his words were snide, the older man looked like Christmas had come again. “Come along, we’ll need to start planning the ceremony.” He left as quickly as he came, satisfied with the result.

“Ceremony?” Harry repeated.

Tom squeezed him, “Our wedding, obviously.”

“Obviously.” He repeated again feeling overwhelmed as Tom led him out of Arabella’s room.

“I  _ did _ say I was going to make an honest omega out of you. It’s only proper since we have a child.” Tom said very matter-of-factly. He shot him a smirk, “That and I don’t relish the idea of attending another ball where I can not introduce you as Harry Riddle.”

“I- but- uh… Tom.” Harry stopped moving as they stepped out the front door, pausing on the top step of the apartment building’s stoop.

“What? Do you not like the idea?” Tom stopped, too. 

“You didn’t ask!” Harry blurted.

“Oh, let me remedy that.” He swiftly dropped to a knee in front of him. “Harry,  _ mother of my child,  _ will you marry me?”

“ _ Oh my god stand up.” _ Harry blushed scarlet at the action. He pulled the alpha back up with his free arm. He tried to be serious, “Tom, you know you don’t have to do this, right? I appreciate it, but I don’t want you to be unhappy.”

“Unhappy?” The alpha frowned, “I was unhappy thinking that you and Tommy had disappeared. Both of you. I didn’t realize it until you were gone, but I care for him, too.” 

He reached over to thread his fingers through Tommy’s hair fondly and Tommy babbled happily.

“I’m still waiting for your answer, Harry. What do you say, will you marry me?” Tom stepped closer.

“Yeah,” Harry said, beaming as he stepped closer, too, and Tom wrapped his arms around him, “I will.”

Tom leaned down and he met him for a kiss. It felt just as good as the first and would have gone on for longer if Tommy’s happy shrieks hadn’t brought Harry back to reality. He laughed, very happy with where his life was going.

Tom smiled at both of them. He kept one hand on the small of the omega’s back as they descended the steps together, ready to move forward with their life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so Tom figures it out in the end. xD That’s not how the movie ends, the ending line literally is about that- the fact that the main guy still has no idea. LOL I wasn’t planning on Tom figuring it out, and wrote the final scene the other way first. But when I went back to add in the middle scenes, especially Tom talking to Ron I felt like it did fit and it Tom would be smart enough to figure that out if he wasn’t being so stubborn.
> 
> Also, I tried changing up a lot of the lines in this from the movie, but I just had to keep the “I don’t care who the father is! I’m the grandfather!” bit, it’s one of my favorite parts. xD Honestly if you do get the chance, the movie is pretty good.
> 
> Thanks for reading! I had a lot of fun with this and might do short follow-ups to this later. Was there anything you were hoping to see? I had some things I wanted, but didn’t fit in with the movie’s direction that I might come back to for some short one-shots. Let me know what you think!


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